Tough shed

[guidofatherof5]

Tonight, while feeding a group of babies(radixes) that were given to me, I spotted a little one in trouble. This wasn't just one of the babies but the runt of litter
It was obvious to me that I had a failure to shed situation. Usually a dish of warm water and a few minutes soaking would allow the old shed to come off. The water gets between the new and old skin, making the shed happen quickly.
That wasn't the case tonight. After 20 minutes of soaking there were still no signs of the old skin coming off. I decided to force the issue and I started pulling at the skin on the back. I was able to get a tiny section off but it acted like it was glued on.
To make a long story shorter, after an hour of picking and pulling at the runts skin I think I got about 95% of it off. It was like having a new snake. No, not in the usual sense of those words but a new snake that could move again.
I had thought about letting the little scrub rest for the night before I attempted to feed it but decided to push my luck. I'm sure glad I did. The little runt ate 3 baby nightcrawlers.
I have never had a snake with such a bad shed before. It's not the humidity in the enclosure since all the other scrubs shed without any trouble. I'm wondering if this could be a developmental problem since this is a runt. I would like some of your opinions on this and any similar situations you have encountered. I will be keeping a close eye on this little one for a few sheds to make sure she doesn't have the same problem again.


http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/runt.jpg
It looks like I missed some shed around the neck. I'll wait until tomorrow. This little scrub has been put through enough.

[drache]

not sure about Iowa, but with the drop in temps, the relative humidity has dropped over here, and I've got a couple of snakes that I had to give some shedding help in the past few days

[Charis]

We have real low humidity here & I have to help my snakes shed probably about 30% of the time. One of the worst sheds I've had was a BP, it had gotten the head & the first inch of shed off it's neck & I had to help with the rest. As long as the the head area has come off, it's pretty easy, though time-consuming to get the rest off. I usually soak them in a warm bath for a few min. & then use a wet wash cloth & let them slither through it, applying light pressure to the edges of the shed. After a little while they all seem to realize that I'm trying to help them & work with me.

[ConcinusMan]

I too have helped adult or sub-adult garters with their shedding like described by Charis. Thankfully, it wasn't necessary too many times over the years and was usually just because it was coming off in shreds. Most of the time I manage to pull off shreads until they meet and the rest comes off in one piece but watch for the tip of tail. It can break off there.

But, little ones like that are different. I too have had to pick and such like guido described. Even though there is a risk of hurting the skin health, the alternative is worse. You probably saved the little guy from much worse outcome. Watch him carefully for a while and next shed should go much better. Wait a little while but make sure you got it all.

[guidofatherof5]

The little runt scrub made it 24 hours after a very difficult shed. All of the grabbing and pulling didn't seem to have an adverse effect. I'll feel much better after a week has passed and she continues to eating. She really is much smaller and shorter than all the others. I hope she'll continue to thrive and grow.